Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Another Story, Vol. 2

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Another Story #2

by Magica Quartet (Creator), Ｕ３５ (Artist)

Despite Mami’s warnings, Kyouko can’t help wondering what would warrant her friend’s strong admonition to stay away from Kamihama City. Surely a little visit couldn’t hurt? After a particularly unfriendly welcome, Kyouko quenches her thirst at a roadside stand—only to find herself thrust directly into one of Kamihama’s most dangerous mysteries!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy

146 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2023

About the author

A group collaboration consisting of director Akiyuki Shinbou, writer Gen Urobuchi, the original character designer Ume Aoki, and the producer Atsuhiro Iwakami.

Reviews

[Ashley S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the previous manga, the art is ridiculously gorgeous. But besides my love for the art style, this book was thoroughly good.

I haven’t watch Magica: Record in some time, so a brush up was needed for me to understand what was going on. In the manga, they don’t thoroughly explain some aspects like we get in the anime, Magica: Record. I enjoy reading the relationship between Kyoko and Mami that we did not get in the original anime Madoka Magica. Compared to the last book, it has a slight bit more action with our dear Kyoko as the main character.

In the artists note at the end, it says that they are working for the next book, and I can only hope it contains our depressed bean, Sayaka and our favorite lesbians, Madoka and Homura.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, the Magia Record: Another Story manga arc poses a bold question: can a spin-off of a spin-off of a spin-off justify its existence? Mostly, this second volume reiterates the first's answer of "if you're already a committed fan, sure.” Picking up from the first volume's Mami focus, this novel follows Kyoko Sakura, the pocky-munching, emotionally-scarred redhead, who ignores Mami's warnings about Kamihama City and launches her own investigation. Kyoko is my favorite Puella Magi and so I appreciate a manga entirely from her point of view. This timeline's Kyoko is somewhere between the idealistic younger Kyoko featured in The Different Story and the snarky burnout from the main series; she claims to be looking out for herself, but always pitches in to help other Magical Girls and do what's right, even if she makes sport of fighting Witches. The manga has some fun scenes as she battles Witches, investigates Rumors and joins Rena and Kaede for a tasty lunch. Unfortunately, the later chapters revisit the main MagiReco manga, where Kyoko helps Iroha and Co. defeat the "Lucky Owl Water" Rumor and some bumbling servants of Magius. Yet it ends on a poignant note, where Mami and Kyoko argue, part ways and Mami confesses that she refuses to give up on her old friend, no matter the distance between them. If this arc continues, and I suspect it will, I would hope that there's more of this character-building and less restaging scenes from MagiReco from a slightly different perspective. Oh well, a cash-in is a cash-in, we should take what we can get.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sakura and mami relationship is so cute! Makes me want to pick up their meeting manga

[Zara Galan · Rating 3 out of 5]

for context, i have not played the game or watched the magia record anime, but i have watched the original series and movies up to rebellion.

i don't know about this one. i feel like this volume lost me even more and that i'm missing a lot of context. i did also breeze through this volume pretty fast so that might just be a me thing.

im kinda happy just to be reading something from one of my favorite franchises, so by no means is this terrible. the art is fantastic and im happy to see my favorite characters interact again.